Young Kenyans who died demanding accountability are yet to receive justice, but political leaders have already shifted their attention to who will share the presidential ticket in 2027.
Development Diaries reports that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has endorsed Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya as President William Ruto’s preferred running mate for the 2027 general election, even as investigations continue into violence during the 20 July Ol Kalou by-election and the country still awaits accountability for protesters killed during the anti-government demonstrations of 2024 and 2025.
The endorsement comes at a time when Kenya’s unresolved political wounds continue to widen. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has opened investigations into violence that disrupted the Ol Kalou by-election, where armed and masked individuals were reportedly involved amid allegations of excessive campaign spending.
Those incidents revive memories of the nationwide protests that began over the Finance Bill and quickly grew into a broader movement against corruption, poor governance and police brutality after dozens of demonstrators were killed.
Violence and opaque campaign financing continue to undermine confidence in Kenya’s elections, while the absence of credible prosecutions for protest-related killings signals that political violence can go unpunished. That combination makes every subsequent election more vulnerable to intimidation, abuse and further bloodshed.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is expected to guarantee credible elections and enforce campaign-finance rules, while the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions are responsible for investigating and prosecuting electoral offences.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is equally expected to account for police conduct during the protests, while political parties cannot escape responsibility for ensuring that competition for power does not descend into violence.
Article 26 of Kenya’s constitution guarantees the right to life, Article 37 protects the right to assemble and demonstrate peacefully, and Article 81 commits the country to free and fair elections. Those constitutional promises lose their meaning when citizens can be killed for protesting and election-related violence continues without accountability.
Young people continue to carry the heaviest burden because they formed the backbone of the protest movement and remain the generation most affected by unemployment, rising living costs and shrinking economic opportunities.
Women and low-income demonstrators who experienced violence, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances are also still waiting for justice, while political negotiations proceed as though those events belong to the past.
The credibility of Kenya’s 2027 election will depend less on coalition negotiations than on whether institutions can demonstrate that those responsible for killing protesters and sponsoring electoral violence will be investigated and prosecuted. Without that assurance, every by-election risks becoming another rehearsal for a larger national crisis.
Citizens should demand that every presidential candidate publicly commit to pursuing independent prosecutions for protest-related killings, while reporting electoral violence and campaign-finance violations to the IEBC and accredited election observers.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority should publish the status of every investigation into protest-related deaths before the 2027 campaign gathers momentum, while the IEBC should disclose campaign spending for the Ol Kalou by-election and refer every identified breach for prosecution.
